Self-portrait
Watercolour and gum arabic over pencil
297 x 218 mm
Circa 1817
Frederic Millet’s initial teachers were d’Aubry, Pernot, and Isabey and he was one of the latter’s best pupils. Between 1806 and 1859 he regularly exhibited at the Salon as a portraitist and was one of the most accomplished miniaturists of his period.
The softness of the modeling, the refinement of the watercolor, enhanced with gum arabic gives depth to the face, which is a real tour de force. Another self-portrait, slightly larger, is at the Musée du Louvre (RF1694). One of the two drawings was presented at the Salon in 1817 under the title Portrait de l’auteur; alas, because of the brief description, it is impossible to determine which of the two.
